Most of today's black South Africans belong to the Bantu language group which migrated south from central Africa, settling in the Transvaal region sometime before AD 100.

Unlike the lighter-skinned Khoisan who were living in South Africa when they arrived, the black farmers cultivated crops, smelted iron, and lived in villages. Their technology was superior and they had a stronger military organization. They took possession of the best farmlands until the whites came and took the land for themselves.

This is part of the Bitter Union: The Story of South Africa Exhibit